A 17-year-old wants to combat Macon’s high rate of youth mental health issues. Here’s how

After struggling with constant suicidal thoughts, being released from the hospital for self-harm and mourning back-to-back relatives’ deaths, Nadia Thomas is on a personal healing journey, she says.

She’s promoting mental health awareness so that others locally can heal too.

The 17-year-old Macon native received the Youth Leader Award on June 29 at the Mentor Georgia 2024 Summit for founding Nadia’s Truth , a business that encourages youth to speak up about mental health issues instead of coping in unhealthy ways.

“My business is my way of telling my story,” Thomas said. “I don’t want to see another teenager go through what I went through. I tell them to embrace their mental health and know that they don’t have to go through it alone.”

Previous reporting from The Telegraph found that mental health is a critical issue for Macon teens , as the city’s rate of 10 to 19-year-olds discharged from hospitals for self-harm exceeded the Georgia state average in 2022.

In addition, five of the 25 people who committed suicide in Macon in 2023 were under the age of 21.

June O’Neal, executive director of The Mentor’s Project of Bibb County, said she nominated Thomas for the leadership award because she felt Thomas’ transparency is needed in the community.

“Before the pandemic, The Mentor’s Project might have one or two children a year experiencing mental health crises. Since the pandemic, we might have three children a month experiencing mental health crises. The numbers have just exploded,” O’Neal said.

Thomas said a variety of factors specifically contribute to mental health woes for Macon’s youth, including bullying, peer pressure, social media and household issues.

“There’s going to school and being bullied or just feeling like you have to fit in by doing something so you can be this cool person,” Thomas said. “Even household issues like losing family members, some teens don’t know how to cope with that, so they’ll turn to drugs or act out in school for attention.”

Through the sale of hoodies, custom-made journals, bookmarks and other items, Nadia’s Truth encourages young customers to never give up, boldly live their truth and seek mental health treatment.

“I feel like a lot of people get judged because they seek help, and when they don’t seek help, then they’re called crazy,” Thomas said.

The business also prompted Geovada Walker, Thomas’ mother, to educate herself and identify warning signs of what to look for in children who experience mental health problems. Walker manages a TikTok account for the business, which provides advice from a parental perspective on how parents can support children.

“As a parent, I didn’t know that my daughter was suffering with depression because she was always this happy-go-lucky type of person,” Walker said. “I’m thankful that I had the mindset to assist my child while she was depressed because a lot of teens don’t have that support system. With Nadia telling her story, she is helping teens find that support.”

Thomas is an ambassador for Restoring Inspiration By Success In Education, a program ran by the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office and addresses trauma impacts on Macon’s youth.

Thomas said she is personally aware of the influence Nadia’s Truth is having on the community because fellow classmates have recognized her efforts.

“It just touches my heart to know that the kids I was in elementary school with are going through similar stuff that I went through, and they’re contacting me to let me know what I’m doing has helped them,” she said.

Thomas calls the supporters of Nadia’s Truth “butterflies,” because the insect represents change, hope and beauty — the three things a person would question while going through a mental health crisis, she said.

Before revealing her butterfly tattoo that covers old self-inflicted scars, Thomas said she wants to start a nonprofit to help teens access her merchandise for free, as well as a Caterpillars Club for elementary students who have questions about mental health. It would be a good resource for them before they enter middle and high school, she added.

“I want each and every teen to know that if they’re going through anything, it’s going to be okay. Don’t ever give up. Suicide is not the answer to your questions. Use me as an example,” she said.

Thomas encourages her peers to speak to their mental health counselors in school. The Mentor’s Project also has in-house counseling available for Bibb County youth, said O’Neal.

Thomas will graduate from VIP Academy in May 2025. She said she wants to attend Albany State University, where she’s eager to pursue a career in nursing and make a difference in health care.